Leica LTM Ken Rockwell's take on why Cartier-Bresson only shot with a 50

Leica M39 screw mount bodies/lenses
Cartier Bresson was not an ostentacious guy and the family was fairly modest. Cartier Bresson and his brother were actively involved in the Resistence, they were very much engaged in social matters, symphathetic to 1968, etc.

I love the 50mm as much as the other person, but it's not really a normal lens, especially when shot vertically--portrait style. The 40mm agreed is normal-ly, if there is indeed a normal...It takes 20 years to really get to know a lens, Brassai says somewhere.
 
Double Negative said:
It never really "matters" what tools are used except perhaps on a curiosity or technical level. As long as you like the end result, that's the important thing I say.
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Oh, I agree. I always wonder about the endless arguments, though. HCB used only 50mm lenses and he never cropped! Yes, he did use other lenses and he did crop! No, he didn't, and I hate you now!...etc.

Now, about those pancakes... 😀
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I've gone and done it now. Not only do I have others wanting some of my wife's famous pancakes, but here I am in Michigan and she's in North Carolina. I won't be home until later this month. And now I really, really, want some of her pancakes. Mmmm, pancakes....
 
bmattock said:
I will ask. And you're welcome over anytime for some of her pancakes. You will leave a very happy man if you're a true pancake fan.
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The key here is: "...if you're a true pancake fan." Some people just don't know the difference between a good pancake and a poor one; sad, but true.
 
Well some people think non-stick spatulas are the modern way to cook pancakes; me, I go with aluminum all the way. No other material gives you the elasticity, control, and heat-dispersion characteristics of aluminum.

(OK, I'll stop now. 😀 )
 
bmattock said:
I always wonder why it matters. I've never asked my wife what spatula she used to make pancakes, but trust me, they are works of art. 'Spose it is because of the spatula?
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If you think serious photography (not amateur stuff) is like making pancakes then I'm in awe of your confidence.

Photography is like climbing mt. Everest with a gas mask on. If its not that difficult for you then you're a genius photographer.
 
I heard a story, maybe true, maybe not, that HCB once buried one of his Leicas in the back yard to keep the nazis from finding it, but then could never relocate the spot where he'd buried it. How much of your yard would you dig up, if you knew there was a leica under it?

People get too caught up in gear. A great photographer can make a great image with a Holga, or an old polaroid camera. Some people can't take a decent snapshot with $5000 worth of gear. As an old friend of mine used to say, "It's not the wand; it's the magician."
 
bmattock said:
I always wonder why it matters. I've never asked my wife what spatula she used to make pancakes, but trust me, they are works of art. 'Spose it is because of the spatula?
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The spatula has very little to do with it. A well seasoned skillet or griddle ... that makes a difference. As does the liberal use of butter and, of course, skill and experience. But mostly butter. 🙂
 
brachal said:
I heard a story, maybe true, maybe not, that HCB once buried one of his Leicas in the back yard to keep the nazis from finding it, but then could never relocate the spot where he'd buried it. How much of your yard would you dig up, if you knew there was a leica under it?
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I'd get a Leica sniffing dog and have at it...

Who needs a yard anyway?
 
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The Nazi produced cameras, why would he bury one?

What HCB actually buried were several shoe boxes of fotos. To his "surprise" they were still there at the end of the war.
 
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